Pope begins Advent by asking Christians to be signs of hope

Published: 2008-12-01

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In their prayers and through their actions in Advent, Christians are called to be signs of hope for a world marked by holiness and justice, Pope Benedict XVI said. "Advent is the spiritual season of hope par excellence, when the whole church is called to become hope for itself and for the world," the pope said Nov. 29 as he celebrated vespers on the eve of the first Sunday of Advent. The pope's homily at the evening prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica, the morning Mass he celebrated Nov. 30 at Rome's Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls and his midday Angelus address at the Vatican afterward all focused on Advent as a time to remember that Christ became human, died for our sins, rose from the dead and will return at the end of time. Advent hope, he said during the evening prayer service, is a recognition of the ongoing need for salvation. "We do not await the Lord as some beautiful decoration for a world already saved," he said, but as the only one who can bring to completion the work begun with his incarnation, death and resurrection.

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